The New York State Senate has given final legislative
passage to a bill, co-sponsored by Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane, that would
expand workforce assistance and training programs for women so they qualify for
higher paying careers.

"Women are increasingly becoming the sole or majority
economic supporter of their families," Maziarz said. "The problem today is that
despite legislative attempts to correct the situation, women are still earning
only about 80 percent of what men are, and jobs that are traditionally held by
women pay significantly less. This legislation will continue to help close the
gap by providing more training, counseling and referral efforts to assist women
in obtaining higher paying jobs to support themselves and their family."

The legislation (S6429A)
would add a workforce training program within the state Department of Labor
that is specifically intended to help women seek higher paying jobs. The
program would include: current information about careers that offer higher
salary and compensation; counseling, skills development and training that
encourage women to seek jobs with higher earning potential; and referrals to
employers offering such jobs.

"The YWCA would like to thank Senator Maziarz for his
leadership on this critical piece of legislation. It marks the recognition
by New York state's policymakers that we must take intentional steps as a
society to combat the gender wage gap and poverty among New York's women," said
Kelli Owens, director of government relations and public policy of the YWCAs of
New York. "By passing the Women's Workforce Bill, the New York State Department
of Labor and local workforce investment boards will be giving women the
information they need to make better career decisions. In turn, they will seek
training and jobs that lead to higher wages and self-sufficiency."

Joelle Logue, the YWCA regional president said, "As
president of the northeast region, I am proud of the focus of our 22 YWCAs
across the state on women's workforce development, and I applaud the tireless
work and commitment of the advocacy committee led by Government Relations
Director Kelli Owens and policy analyst Shannon Wong to achieve bipartisan
support for this important legislation. I also want to acknowledge the efforts
of Senator George Maziarz in his sponsorship of our bill that will have significant
impact on improving women's economic status."

Kathy Granchelli, executive director of the YWCA Niagara,
said, "The YWCA Niagara County has been in the business of empowering women
economically for decades by providing them with housing, domestic violence and
sexual abuse service and job training services. We believe this piece of
legislation is important to our work locally not only as a social services
agency, but as social change organization. Women will now have access to
workforce information and training that will help move them to
self-sufficiency. That is the goal of the YWCA here in Niagara County and
across the country."

"This legislation is a step in the right direction in
ensuring that women are afforded the same job opportunities and wages as men," Maziarz
said. "I applaud the Legislature for passing this important legislation, and am
excited to see the positive effects that this bill will have for our area."

The bill was also passed by the State Assembly and will be
sent to Gov. Andrew Cuomo for his consideration.